


Brave

by celeste9



Category: Primeval
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:31:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1866345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While following the dragon's trail, Jess grows closer to Becker. (fantasy!AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brave

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to [Once Upon a Time...](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1154553). Thanks to clea2011 and deinonychus_1 for the beta. For 'brave' on my Primeval Denial bingo card.

There were few things Jess enjoyed more than flaunting her skills. She had always felt modesty was overrated - she’d worked hard to get as good as she was, so what was the point in hiding it?

This was why sparring was one of Jess’ favourite things. And if she got to do it with the handsome new recruit, well... It left her with little complaint. No complaint, actually.

Jess laughed and spun away from Becker, ducking underneath the heavy swing of his sword. She danced behind him and whacked him on his bum with the flat of her blade.

He scowled and stepped away, lowering his sword and shaking his head ruefully. “I’m still not any good at all, am I?”

“Not really,” Jess said, grinning. “But you’re better than yesterday!”

“I suppose that’s something.” Becker used his fingers to comb his hair back into place. “Again?”

Jess gazed at him, standing there with his flushed, sweaty cheeks and his loose shirt. He was ridiculously pretty, it was true, but that would serve him not at all when they caught up with their foe.

“Again,” she said, and settled into her stance.

-

The village was little more than a blackened ruin. The houses were crumbling and the roofs were caving in. All around them was destruction.

Jess steeled herself and walked on, making herself look at every body she passed. Young and old, the bodies were bloody and burnt and broken. She looked at them to remind herself of what they were up against, what they needed to stop.

Becker walked quietly by her side, his hand clenched around the hilt of his sheathed sword. Mostly he stared straight ahead but occassionally Jess would feel his eyes on her, as if he was trying to gauge her mindset.

She thought he was considering reaching out to her. She was glad he didn’t. She was no delicate maid to be comforted and shielded from the horrors around them. Jess was as strong as he - perhaps stronger. She was no stranger to this life, unlike Becker.

It would be nice to hold Becker’s hand, though. Later, when they were gone from this place, when it was all right to need another’s touch, when she did not need to be firm as a rock.

When no one else could see.

The men Tom had sent ahead of them to search for survivors returned alone. “There’s no one, sir,” Matt said. “Nothing left but the dead.”

Tom’s jaw tightened and he nodded. “We will keep on, then. The dragon mustn’t be more than two days ahead of us.”

“There could be survivors,” Becker said softly to Jess. “Some may have escaped.”

Jess offered him a weak smile, recognising that he was trying to comfort her, to make the situation somehow okay. “Yes, that’s true.”

She did not say that she had seen survivors from other villages run down just the same. She did not say that there was nowhere for them to hide.

Becker was new. He still did not understand their enemy.

He would, in time. Until then, Jess would spare him what she could.

-

They passed another ruined village, but at least this time there was a group of suriviors clearing up debris and trying to make a new start. Jess wanted to help, and she knew she wasn’t alone, but they couldn’t afford to delay, not even for a good purpose. The farther the dragon got ahead of them, the more villagers would need help.

When they made camp that evening, Tom praised them for the good time they were making and for their quick pace. They would find the dragon tomorrow, he said, barring an unforeseen crisis.

“Rest,” he told them. “You will need it.”

Jon and David had first watch. Jess took two bowls of stew over to where Becker was sitting and sat beside him, folding her legs beneath her.

“Thanks,” Becker said, accepting the bowl Jess gave him, and they ate mostly in silence.

Jess was nervous, the way she always was when she knew what was coming. She trusted in her companions and most of all she trusted in herself, but that didn’t mean all would be well. She remembered her first battle, so long ago now, and how terrified she had been. Tom had told her that it was okay to be afraid. It was easy if you weren’t scared. Being brave meant struggling on even when you _were_ scared. That was the true mark of courage. Jess carried the memory of his words with her always, like a talisman.

She had frozen up, that first time. She never would again.

“Nervous?” Jess asked Becker.

He shook his head in immediate denial. “No,” he said, though he had hardly touched his meal.

Jess smiled inwardly. Becker was one of those men who believed in looking tough always, in projecting a persona even when it was false. Jess saw straight through it, but it was cute all the same. “Just remember what you’ve learned,” she said. “See with all your senses and listen to what Sir Tom tells you.”

Becker nodded. “What did your parents say when you chose the knighthood? They allowed it?”

Bristling, Jess answered, “Why should I need to be allowed to do anything? Am I not my own person, capable of making my own choices?”

Becker was staring wide-eyed at her and Jess realised she had got quite a bit louder and angrier than she had meant to. She sighed. “I’m sorry. I’ve just heard that so, so many times before. What I am allowed to do, and what I am not.”

“I didn’t think,” Becker said.

“It’s all right. To be perfectly honest my parents were horribly disapproving. My mother used to put on airs and say that I was killing her with my nonsense.” Jess smiled ruefully. “I have not killed her yet, though, as her sad letters continue to find me at regular intervals.”

Laughing, Becker then asked, “They still aren’t proud of you? Even after all you’ve accomplished?”

Jess looked to the distance as she formulated her response. “Good girls are supposed to do what their fathers tell them. They are supposed to like jewels and pretty dresses and dancing. When they grow up they are supposed to marry the man their father chooses for them and then do as their husband bids them.”

Now she turned to Becker. “You know what? I like jewels and pretty dresses and dancing, and someday I hope to be married. But I also like swords and armour and adventures, and I want to be married to someone who appreciates all the things that make me who I am, who lets me be myself. I don’t want to lean on a man; I want to stand on my own two feet.”

Becker’s smile was soft and the look in his eyes gentle and admiring. “I could talk for an hour and still not say all the things I like about you, but what I like most is that you want to stand on your own, and that you actually do.”

Surprised, Jess blinked and opened her mouth to respond, but before she could Becker was leaning forward and cupping her face in his hand. His mouth was warm and his lips a little chapped, and he kissed like he meant it.

“Oh,” Jess said slowly, opening her eyes again when Becker let her go. “That was... unexpected.”

Becker was blushing. He was adorable. “Sorry?”

“No, definitely don’t be sorry. It was nice. I just didn’t think you...” Jess wished she was better at this. She didn’t want to dissolve into a silly girl just because a handsome boy had kissed her, but she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to react. “I didn’t think you would.”

“But you didn’t mind?”

Jess shook her head.

Becker beamed at her.

Jess laughed, hoping he wouldn’t think she was making fun. “Perhaps your timing could have been better, though? We are sort of on a mission here. Very important. Very serious.”

“Seems to me that’s the best time for kissing,” Becker said, a trace of hopefulness in his voice.

“Maybe,” Jess relented. “After all, we could die tomorrow.” They could. But they wouldn’t. Jess believed that more than anything.

“Exactly,” Becker said, his eyes too amused for his solemn tone to be believed. “Wouldn’t want to leave things unfinished. Anyway, this should be wonderful motivation.”

“How so?”

“If the dragon eats you, you won’t be able to kiss me again, will you?”

Jess couldn’t help but laugh again, mostly because Becker looked so pleased with himself. “My, you’re a real charmer, aren’t you?”

“I try.”

“Good, you’d better keep trying because, as you may have noticed, most of my friends are men.”

Becker’s forehead creased in confusion. “Am I supposed to be jealous?”

“No, you’re just supposed to realise that they’re all going to be watching your every move to ensure you treat me properly. Like a gentleman treats a lady.” It may be true that the knights trusted Jess to hold her own in a fight, but that didn’t mean their protective instincts wouldn’t come out where prospective suitors were involved. Not that that happened often. Chasing dragons didn’t leave Jess a lot of time for men.

Wincing, Becker glanced around, as if to assess the current level of antagonism towards him (Danny was already watching them, but he only grinned and winked at Jess). “Yes, I assumed as much.”

Jess scooted closer to Becker, so their knees were pressed together. “That’s okay, though, you’ll be fine.” She smiled winningly. “So, what else do you like about me? Go on, I’ve got time.”

**_End_ **


End file.
